RyanofOZ

I have some good ones at home, but im at the offfice so they are clean. Oz

I jump one at 1.2 and love it. As stated above, I have heard bad things about them loaded above 1.6 but in my vast experiance (38 jumps) I can only really talk about my own canopy. Oz

I would have to agree here. If you cant land a 240, I would not be in any hurry to downsize. You should be able to land that school bus with no problem before moving to an Acura. The smaller canopy will be much less forgiving on the landing than the big one. It could be the difference between a mark on your jump suit and a broken ankle. I would get some video of your landings and take a canopy control class before moving down. Oz

I was rushed for the first time 2 weeks ago. It was by an instructor of all things that said "were going over 100mph you dont need anywhere near that long" When I asked if they do a 6 second delay between groups on the way to alt. When the group left in front of me I moved to the door and heard hurry up! so I went. I watched that 4 way most of the way down till I tracked off. The whole way down I kept telling myself "well that was stupid" over and over. I know how you feel. I normally wouldnt have done that because I know how my home DZ is. But being the first jump at a new DZ and not being all that comfy yet, I just went with the flow. Lesson learned as well. Oz

You will get a lot of different answrers here on that. It depends widely on its use and maintainance. A busy DZ can wear out a student rig in a few years where as a personal sport rig may be jumpable for 20 or more. It all depends on how it is cared for and how much its used. Most of the time people upgrade to take advantage of better designs before their old ones wear out. Usually though, you can count on it being good for thousands of jumps if cared for. Oz

18,000 No O2 3,000 (clouds) Oz

Actually the loop is tight as all hell. I have the biggest canopy that will fit in that size container so I am guessing that is why it seems long. It is hella tight though! Oz

Here is my baby.... You cant tell from the pix but the back is actually dark blue with black reserve and main closing flaps. I love it. Oz

Since you're an instructor yourself and have a lot of experience sizing rigs to students, especially smaller students? God forbid someone that is not an instructor makes a comment about an instructors decision in fitting gear to a student. No I am not an instructor, but I know how my instructors were, and they were extremely picky about how things were fit. If it was a little big they puled in the MLW and fit the rig. If there was not one that fit right, they wouldnt let you jump it. For gods sake her chin strap welted her throat and she barely reached the toggles. It does not take an instructor to see that was not a good thing. I call that common sense. Oz

Jen I must have read / misunderstood what happened there. I didnt realize you got the command for flairing after you landed. Sorry about that. In that case, you did a great job dealing with the situation at hand and coming out of it in one piece. Good job. That makes me think the guy on the radio did an even worse job. In a low wind situation with a school bus for a canopy, he should have gotten you very very close to where you were supposed to be. After a few more jumps the radio will be just there in case "shit happens". You did a good job, hopefully your next jumps will go off without a hitch. Oz

Jen, Sounds like you had an interesting AFF1. I agree with you in that tihngs could have been done a lot better. The rig. That is the part that I am not happy about. Student rigs, by nature are "fit nobody" rigs. That being said, there should always be one that fits pretty close. Your instructor with the bagillion jumps should know better. IMO that put your safety in jeopardy, which should be his primary concern. What if it was just a tad bit bigger and it hit your throat harder, or you couldnt reach the toggles? Not pretty. Unfortunatly you learned a lesson about speaking up and taking a stand when you dont feel right in your gear. Instructors make mistakes too so dont just always "go with the flow" if you feel something is not right. The landing. If you were under radion control how did you land away from the landing area? Bad spot? High winds? I am not saying that it does not happen, but I would like to hear why you thought you missed the landing area. Most of the time unless the unusual happens, an instructor should get you to the right place if you listen to their commands. The butt slide is not all that bad, but for now you should listen for the flair command until you get a few more jumps and can be sure you know when on your own. A butt slide is not as bad as flairing too late and hitting hard, or too early and stalling it in. The radio. I had the same thing happen to me going through AFF. It really didnt bother me because unlike your instructor, mine just gave me a couple commands and didnt babble the whole time. I agree that constant talking would take away from me getting comfy under canopy and being as alert as possible. If he was giving commands thats another thing, but just babbling, I would say distracts you at a time when you need to be most aware. I would just ask your instructor is he could guide you in himself, or ask him who will be doing it, and talk to them about it. No big deal, but if it helps your comfort level a little, by all means do it. Next level make sure your gear is right for you and have a great time. Its a great sport with a lot of great people. They all make mistakes now and then, so just be sure you are happy with what is going on or say something. As they say, in the end, its your responsibility. If you dont speak up, you are not excercising that right. Oz

My parents had a pursian that lived to 22 years old. It had to be the grouchiest animal ever. It liked nobody untill its last 3 years when it was too old to be mean. That cat beat cancer 5 times through 5 surgeries. In the end we put it to sleep when it wouldnt get up one day. The vet was always amazed at that animal. Why is it the mean ones that defy age limits? I have 2 now that are great, I hope they live as long as the evil "Puss" as we named him. Oz

Another option is to just order another set of risers with dive loops already on them. Any gear store can do that for you. They run about $100 US Oz

Not that I think much can be done here but I felt like ranting for a minute.... What kind of luck is this? I got a new Icon a few weeks ago and had it all packed up at my local DZ. Great rig and couldnt be any happier. Problem is this.... My rigger calls me last week and said that he forgot to put my reserve card back in the pocket and he wanted to let me know so that I wouldnt show up to another DZ and be screwed. Well folks, that is what just happened (for the most part). My DZ is closed the next 2 days and I only have tomorrow to go jump in the morning at another one. I cant get the card. I cant get a hold of anyone to vouch for my reserve since they are all closed, I dont really want to have it repacked after 2 weeks to jump twice tomorrow.... I am bummed! This is the first time in months my GF has been busy and I would have all afternoon alone to jump! Arrrrggggghhh! Ok, I feel better now..... Guess thats just the way it goes. Oz

I voted yes, but if the kill line was not cocked, I would say hell no. It is the jumpers responsibility for the condition of the gear in the end, yes. However if a paid packer missed that, he should pay for the pack, and the ticket. I agree with tombuch on this, packers should be delivering near rigger quality work. Oz

Thats an accident waiting to happen..... Oz

I had a Vector 3. I had a problem with the riser covers coming open on it that RWS tried to fix to no avail. They didnt come open all the time, but there were enough times someone in the plane was tucking them back in that I was not happy. The leg straps were not all that comfy. Some of that is probably my own doing from years of squats resulting in larger than average legs. The Icon fits me better and didnt bruise me (yet) down there. The reserve freebag is designed to take high speed deployments better while not taking any longer to deploy in a low speed situation. My rigger explained it was they way the lines are stowed in the bag. I personally dont know a whole lot about that but from what I hear I like that idea. I am a big boy and dont want my reserve blowing up on me if I can help it. I fly about 150mph belly to earth so I need all the help I can get. The Vector is a great rig, and with the SkyHook I would say they make it even better. I just like the new design in some of the pieces (3 ring, freebag) and that it fits as well as it does. For the most part, as long as you are buying something remotely new, you cant go wrong. It comes down to preference. Oz

I just got my new Icon in last week and put a few jumps on it. I have to say it is a great rig. I had a Vector before and like this one much better. The riser covers are bullet proof and the new design for the 3 ring and reserve free bag are great. The rig fits and looks great. I plan on posting a review after a few more jumps. My only beef is that the main d-bag is a little smaller than my old one. My riger said it was a little on the small side but will be fine. I just have to try and cram a 210 in to it so I will be sweating a lot more in the future. Oz

I didnt really give his comment much weight. I asked about the Psyco pack and he gave me about the same answer. He seemed like since it was not what he does that it was not something I needed to be doing. I guess I will see tomorrow when it open above my head. I already packed it that way tonight. Oz

Thats what I did today and he said "well I guess it would work but why the hell would you want to" I took that as "I wouldnt do that if I were you" I am still going to try it though. Oz

Well that solved part 1 of the mystery, thanks! Oz

Well you are almost neck and neck with happy poon and being banned. At least some woman still have happy poon! Oz

You left out an option on the poll. How about "tried it and found the perfect match". I did it for a month and found the woman I will marry. We live together and couldnt be any happier. She is beautiful, smart, and very witty. Give it a shot it can work. It made me a believer. I did it out of curiosity one day. Oz

I did a search but didn't find a lot so I figured I would ask another somewhat dumb question... Why are reserves 7 cell F-111 and not made of ZP or the option of a 9 cell? Opening issues? reliability? Just curious. Oz

You need to talk to your local gear dealers also. They are a great source of info and usually much more up-to-date on what is out there for your ability. One thing is fore sure, dont but something you are not sure about or that you feel pushed into buying. There is a ton of good gear out there at the right price is you look a little. Just because your instructors are pushing you to get the 170 Sabre doesnt mean you have to. Even instructors make bad calls and it seems they may be doing that here. Talk to GravityGirl and Skybytch here, they are great sources for gear and information. Remember that your safety needs to come first. You can still scare yourself on a 230sq ft canopy if you fly it right so dont be in a rush to go load the wing. I load a Spectre210 at about 1.19:1 and it is more than enough for me. Oz